The basics: Who is Sam Zell and how did he corral the cash to buy Tribune? It turns out employee stock ownership plans sometimes work out for employees. But usually, says class warrior David Carr, they're better for the employers than the little guy. The Wall Street Journal has a pretty good summary of ESOPs; Apparently, we're gonna see a lot more of them. And what does it all mean for the L.A. Times? Editor James O'Shea is optimistic, even though we hear there are going to be layoffs within three weeks. The LAT's Tim Rutten is just happy to see the Chandler family out of the picture. LAT-hater Mickey Kaus thinks Tim Rutten is a pompous ass. No one can decide if David Geffen is blowing smoke or might actually try for a deal to buy the LAT. Likewise, if Mark Cuban wants to buy the Chicago Cubs, he'll have to pony up major dough.
We didn't actually count how many things this actually is, but everyone knows that readers love headlines with numbers in them.